Writer/s: JAY LIVINGSTON, RAY EVANS
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty
Will I be rich
Here's what she said to me
Que será, será
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que será, será
What will be, will be
When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart, what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows
Day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said
Que será, será
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que será, será
What will be, will be
Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome
Will I be rich
I tell them tenderly
Que será, será
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que será, será
What will be, will be
The lyrics of this song made popular by Doris Day, a long time ago (most of you have no idea who Doris Day was), say that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do your destiny is already set, there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing you do can change it. If that's true it would mean that if you are saved it was predetermined and nothing you do or have done could or can ever change it. If it is already predetermined that you will not be saved and will go to hell there is nothing you could or can ever change it. It would mean that, from the foundation of the world and well before you were born God predetermined you to heaven or hell. That doesn’t sound like the God of the bible who is described as being love.
1 John 4:8 (NLT) But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
It doesn’t sound like the God who is delaying the return of Jesus because He doesn’t want anybody to perish.
2 Peter 3:9 (NLT) The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
While not the emphasis of this post I published Predestination or Free Will nearly three years ago. Here is what I said in that post;
“Because God is sovereign and omniscient or all-knowing He has known from before the foundation of the world who will be saved and have eternal life in His presence, and who will not be saved and be in eternal torment. Foreknowledge of those who will and will not be saved is not the same as predetermining who will and will not be saved. What is predestined, as shown in Romans 8:29, is that those whom God foreknew would be saved, will be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus. The choice of acceptance of that salvation is yours. Just like the slave who is confined to the slave ship has the choice to row or not row and to accept the penalty of not rowing, we have the choice to accept the sacrifice of Jesus as payment for our sins or to reject it and accept the penalty. The choice is yours. It’s God’s desire that all men be saved, but He has given us the free will to accept or reject salvation. Eternal life with God or eternal separation from Him is your choice. I urge and pray that if you haven’t done so please choose life.”
I recently completed a YouVerson Reading Plan Faith Vs Fate written by Pastor Lisa Singh Senior Pastor at Heavenly Grace Ministries in Queens, New York. It addresses the battle of fate versus faith and shows why faith wins.
Faith Vs Fate
In the world we live in, many people view their destiny as their Fate— or as the saying goes , “whatever will be, will be.” But as a believer, Faith is the word that should be part of our vocabulary, for faith is a gift given to men after they have put their trust in God and this faith can chart a different course for your life. Are you fate-driven or are you faith-driven ? I hope this plan will help you move from a fate to faith mindset!
Fate
When God created the human race, He created them in His image and likeness according to the book of Genesis in the Bible. Man was created in the likeness of his creator and as a result, God has written a good plan for our lives, but God does not dictate or demand that we take His way because He created us with the power to choose. The power to choose is what sets us apart from all other creations, and that is a lot of power we have been given when we really think about it. God had perfection in mind for us when He created mankind, but our first earthly father and mother—Adam and Eve, chose against God's best for them and as a result, perfection was tainted. But then, God the Father sent His son Jesus, the second Adam, to give us a second chance at choosing God's best, but today many people are still taking the path of the first Adam which will only lead to death. I hear the saying all the time from people who have not chosen Jesus as their Lord, "Whatever will be, will be." Have you ever heard that statement also? If we look deeper into that statement, it is actually bone-chilling to think that whatever happens in life was meant to be, but unfortunately that is the modus operandi of the world we live in. But I beg to differ that if this belief system is true, then what is the reason for prayer, quiet times with the Lord, fasting, or even going to church? If our lives were meant to be lived with this predestined path of unfortunate and tragic events with a few happy moments in between, then why would Jesus even need to come to earth to save us?
There is two beliefs system that many people live by in the world and one is fate and the other is faith. Fate is the will or principle or determining cause by which things, in general, are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do. Fate is also defined as something that unavoidably befalls a person or that which is inevitably predetermined: destiny. With this definition it gives the idea that if someone has a wonderful end to their destiny, it will happen to them no matter what and nothing they do can change it. This sounds great but on the flip side, if someone has a bad end to their destiny there is also nothing they can do to change it. This belief system sounds very flawed and very unfair. But it also shows that the author of our destiny seems to have biases and this is clearly not the God who created man in His image.
I believe God and His word, and if Jesus gave His life for us in the extent of such bitter and physical abuse even unto death to return us to the position of right standing with our Heavenly Father, then the belief system of "Whatever will be, will be" should have no space in our lives. When Jesus died and rose again from the dead our Heavenly Father not only gave us eternal life but He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ—(Ephesians 1:3 NIV). This suggests that though our destiny was derailed by Adam's wrong choice, now because of the position of Jesus, He has reestablished us to our destiny which can now be changed to the perfect plan God has for us and it is no longer "Whatever will be, will be"!
"I've seen dreams that move the mountains, hope that doesn't ever end, even when the sky is falling. I've seen miracles just happen, silent prayers get answered, broken hearts become brand new—That's what faith can do" ~ Kutless
Today we want to focus on the other belief system, and most believers live their lives by it—that is faith. The Greek word for faith according to Strong's concordance is pistis and it means "Firm persuasion"—a conviction based upon hearing. Strong's also notes, "Faith (4102/pistis) is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, 4102/pistis ("faith") for the believer is "God's divine persuasion"'—and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will" (1 Jn 5:4 NIV).
From the definition above we can clearly see that faith is a gift given to men after they have put their trust in Him, and this faith isn't just given as a one-time gift but rather a continuous, growing, and progressive gift. I want you to pay close attention to the statement in the definition, "A conviction based on hearing". In fact, that is the way we get faith, the Bible tells us, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17 NKJV). True faith can only come by continuously hearing the words of Christ, the good news and the promises of God. The enemy of our souls (Satan) would love to engraft the erroneous belief of "Whatever will be, will be", but God's words are true and powerful and are able to chart a very different course for our lives even if we were heading for doom.
I am so grateful for the gift of faith because it changed my life, and I am praying it would change yours also. For many years I believed in fate, I believed my life was destined to doom and gloom, I believed I was useless because of the color of my skin and the texture of my hair, because of my lack of money, and educational background. I believed these lies because I constantly heard words of rejection, and the enemy magnified those words to me, and I was ready for and living a life of failure. Perhaps you are in a place where you are also listening to the lies of the enemy about your destiny, perhaps the enemy has convinced you because of the alcoholic history, or violent and abusive traits of your father, or maybe you come from deep poverty and have no education, or your family line is plagued with divorce and heartbreak. I don't know what your plight might be, but the God who created you does and if He was to speak to you right now I believe He would say, "Son or Daughter, I know your genealogy, history, and present but I have always had a good plan for you; would you trust me in this moment and forget all the lies you've been told? Today I want to give you a gift called faith and with it you can chart a different course for your life. It doesn't have to turn out how it did for the generations past, I offered them the gift but they didn't want it. Come to me, believe me, and I will give you rest."
Hebrews 11:1 NIV Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
1 John 5:4 NIV for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
Romans 10:17 NIV Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Romans 12:3 NIV For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
Matthew 11:28 NIV “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
"There is still One whose faith in you has never wavered. And how wonderful it is that that one should be Jesus Christ! It was a wonderful dream God dreamed, Christ says when He created you; it was a stately being that was in His mind when you were fashioned, and I can make you all He meant that you should be." ~ A. J. Gossip
When I think about pleasing God it brings delight to my soul now, but it was not always that way. Because of the many negative teachings I heard while growing up about God, the term "Pleasing God" was anything but delightful; in fact, I would say there was more fear associated with the statement. I think this stems from my own personal experience I had with the lack of a father figure in my life, so it was easy for me to adopt the notion that God was hard to please and that drained my soul. But now, being married to a wonderful man and having two children of my own, I have been able to see the love of a father through their eyes; as a result of this revelation, my relationship with my heavenly father has become delightful. When we understand that God loved us even while we were rebellious to Him, there is really nothing more we can do to please Him for acceptance, but the pleasing Him now flows from the gift of faith that shows Him how much our confidence is in Him. My kids do not have to please me for me to love them more; my love was fixed from the moment I laid eyes on them and nothing they do can make me love them less or more.
When our kids do something out of love and appreciation for us, that moves us to magnify our love in that moment where our hearts are pleased. In the same way when we bring praise and thanksgiving, or just valuing time in God's presence pleases His heart also. Pleasing God is not hard and laborious work, but rather it is the exercising of faith in the One who is able to do the impossible. The Bible tells us God is a rewarder of those that seek Him (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). In other words, to please God doesn't require our works and ability in ourselves, but pleasing God is resting in who He is and His ability to do what he says He will do, and this faith is only maintained by reading, hearing and meditating on Him and His words.
In Hebrews 11, we read about the heroes of faith, and they were all very simple people like you and me but their confidence in God to come through for them, to do what He promised, is what etched their names in the hall of faith—they pleased God because they believed in Him. When we decide to put our trust and confidence in our Creator rather than in creation, we will be positioned to see mountains move, oceans parted, supplies never run dry, dead bones live and death defeated. One of the heroes of faith skipped death completely, and all we know is that He walked faithfully with God and one-day God took him (Genesis 5:24). How wonderful it would be to have our names engraved in the hall of faith in heaven. It's not too late my friends to please God—just come to Him, believe who He says He is, and watch Him do what He said He would do. Take the step of faith today and trust Him!
Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Hebrews 11:5-6 NIV By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
"Faith looks not at what happens to him but at Him Whom he believes." ~Watchman Nee
Faith is progressive. As we grow in our walk with God, and as we become more aware of His presence, and His promises, we begin to believe Him for greater things. When I first started my walk with God, I had little faith, and I would pray for things for myself and my family. I would ask for personal material needs, but I did not believe God wanted to heal my headache as much as He wanted to provide for me, so I would suffer physical pain because I didn't yet understand God could heal. As years went by and I began to study God's word, it opened up a vault of treasures that had been hidden in plain sight, and my mind began to understand the depth of love my Father had for me. My faith began to grow, and then I started believing God could heal me just like He healed so many in the Bible. Now I can say I have moved out of the small sphere into a larger realm of faith, and I know I still have some way to go, but now I believe God for nations, mass deliverance, and healings all because I increased my time I spent with God and meditating on His word.
In Hebrews 11 we also hear about the great man Moses; his life was extraordinary and he definitely lived a life of faith in God. But before Moses' life went into depth, there is a small mention of his parents. Moses's parents were slaves in Egypt and they lived in terrifying times; Pharaoh passed a law that all baby boys born in that time should be thrown in the river Nile, but the girls could live. Pharaoh was afraid he and his people would be overpowered by the Hebrew people. But Moses's parents refused to kill him, and they hid him for three months because they believed God was able to save him. The Amplified Bible says it this way, "[Prompted] by faith Moses, after his birth, was kept concealed for three months by his parents, because they saw how comely the child was; and they were not overawed and terrified by the king's decree." (Hebrews 11:23 AMPC)
The parents of Moses were from the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe, and they were very familiar with the promise made to Abraham that they would one day have their own land and be a free people and because of the promises of God to their ancestors, they never lost hope or their faith. They trusted God to keep Moses, and God honored their faith in Him to do it. Moses's parents took a great leap of faith, and Moses ended up living like royalty in Pharaoh's palace and was still raised by his natural mother, all because his parents were prompted by faith in their God. Maybe today you are facing a situation that is detrimental with nowhere to turn and you feel hopeless. I want to encourage you today like Moses's parents to spend some time in God's presence reading His promises and let Him prompt you for the next move in your life; let go and let God because He has a plan!
"Faith is the willingness to risk anything on God." ~ Jack Hyles
Exodus 1:22 NIV Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
Exodus 2:10 NIV When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
Moses's story is always one of amazement, and his parent's faith is what preserved his life in order that he would one day become the deliverer of the people of Israel. I wonder what would have happened if Moses's mother decided to accept the fate that was presented to her at that time. I am sure God would have been able to raise up another person, but before the foundation of the earth, God had written the plan for Moses's life and He would look for partners of faith to bring his plan to fruition. I am sure glad Moses's parents didn't sit on the bank of the river Nile and say, "Whatever will be, will be."
Today as we come to a close, I want us to examine the scriptures in Hebrews 11 about Moses and pay attention to the words used in the Amplified Bible as the author describes Moses's journey.
1. Aroused faith (Hebrews 11:24 – 26 AMPC)
When our faith is aroused we will be able to
· Conquer the things of the world and refuse to be called a son of bondage (Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter).
· You will be able to take up the greater cause for Christ, and His church even if it means being cut off from being popular according to the world standards (Moses preferred to share in the oppression of his own people).
· To weigh your choices and make Godly decisions (Moses gave up the riches and comfort in bondage to have freedom with God).
2. Motivated faith (Hebrews 11:27 AMPC)
When our faith is motivated we will be able to
· Conquer fears of the present situations and circumstances and look to the One who promises (Moses left Egypt).
3. Simple faith (Hebrews 11:28 AMPC)
When we operate in simple faith we will be able to
· Depend on God as your only source of life, needs, protection, health, wholeness, and wealth (Moses instituted the Passover).
4. Urged on faith (Hebrews 11:29 AMPC)
When we are urged on by faith we will be able to
· Set the stage for miracles (with God's help Moses parted the Red Sea).
· Release everything into God's hands (Moses had total faith as he led the people of Israel in the dry path of the sea).
· See the enemy defeated by the very same thing that was your deliverance (Moses saw the Egyptian army drown in the Red Sea).
So you see my friends, faith is progressive but with every level, while there may be more difficult obstacles to overcome, it becomes easier to trust God who is bigger than our troubles. Faith catches God's attention because faith screams "I can't do this Lord but I know you can!" Without fail, God will show up at every juncture of faith. I pray that you will begin to live your life by faith and not fate.
1 Timothy 6:12 NIV Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Hebrews 10:23 NIV Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading."~ Oswald Chambers